Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The second review to which the Deputy referred is a policy review of activation measures that are under way. This review will be completed in the next few months. It takes into account all the headings, including community employment, under the labour support measures valued at just under €1 billion. The expenditure of €1 billion by the Department of Social Protection on labour support and employment measures, returning people to education, Tús, JobBridge, community employment schemes and a variety of other schemes is very significant and important.

The Deputy referred to the IMF. When the previous Government brought in the IMF and did its deal with it, it presented all the review papers across every department that were in production at the time. Many good people were working in FÁS but the actions of some of its staff seriously damaged the brand. The former Government decided to take FÁS out of the jobs and enterprise category and put it into the education category with a view to responsibility being transferred to the Department of Social Protection. That is what has happened.

Our activity is not just because of the troika. We are spending €1 billion and need to ensure the continuation of service delivery, good experience for the people on the schemes and value for money. There is no difficulty in seeking value for money in these times.

The Deputy referred to double payments for certain categories of people. For instance, somebody on a community employment scheme could have been getting a full CE scheme payment and a full individual social welfare payment. In some cases, this amounted to approximately €450 per week, on which one had only to pay PRSI, not taxation, for 19.5 hours of work. This is quite expensive for the Department. There are many working full-time, even in the public service, who do not get €450 per week after paying tax and PRSI.

We need an honest discussion about the costs involved. We must try to meet three objectives: service delivery, good experience for the participant, and value for money.

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